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All the World’s a Stage: 10 Insider Tips for Visiting the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is celebrating its 75th anniversary season with a multitude of plays and activities that shouldn’t be missed. Held near the southern border of Oregon in the picturesque town of Ashland, the festival offers something for everyone. You can enjoy the theatre (especially this year’s production of Twelfth Night which launched the festival in 1935) and be charmed by the town’s many, quaint pleasures. Mark your calendars because the season ends October 31. To borrow old William’s words, you’ll be proclaiming that “parting is such sweet sorrow” by the time you leave!

1. If you’re pinching pennies, consider buying tickets during the Value Season, October 5-31. Tickets are discounted 25% (40% if you pay to become an OSF member). Also, sign up for OSF’s e-mail newsletter for additional, periodic discount codes.

2. Still pinching pennies? Don’t be overly choosy about seat location. The festival stages plays in three theatres: the Angus Bowmer, New Theatre and Elizabethan Stage. Any seat in the intimate Angus Bowmer or New Theatre offers a great view – even the last row. Save your money to buy better seats for the Elizabethan Stage. It’s an outdoor theatre accommodating over 1,000 people and it becomes difficult to hear the farther away you sit.

3. Seeing a play at the Elizabethan Stage is a special treat, but be prepared as the weather welcomes fall. Dress warmly since temperatures drop sharply at night (plays often don’t end until 11:00 p.m.). Unless you have buns of steel, bring a seat cushion since the metal chairs can be remarkably uncomfortable. If you don’t have your own, beat the crowd and rent one ($2.50) from the Soroptimist Club located inside the theatre. Your bum will thank you!

4. Arrive a few minutes early. The plays don’t officially start before the advertised times, but the curtain goes up well in advance. Casts frequently take the stage early to perform a brief prelude that can be simply amusing or a relevant lead-up to the plot.

5. Stay a few minutes late. Actors and other special guests frequently offer “Member Talks” after the matinee performance. These free talks are open to everyone and an information kiosk with the daily schedule is located outside the main door of the Angus Bowmer Theatre.

6. Walk! The majority of lodging is located within walking distance from the theatres and you can stroll the entire length of the main street in 15-20 minutes. The 93-acre Lithia Park is located directly behind the OSF theatres and is free and open to the public. Stop by park headquarters to obtain a trail guide highlighting the trees, rose garden and make sure to throw a penny into the historic 1915 Lithia Water Fountain!

7. Increase your quality time with The Bard by visiting the OSF Welcome Center (corner of Main and Pioneer Streets). Learn about the history of OSF, the plays and volunteers will answer any lingering questions. A free display of costumes from prior productions is also well worth your time. The quality is so remarkable that the New York Metropolitan Opera has been known to borrow pieces from the OSF costume department.

8. Take home a Shakespearean souvenir without breaking the bank. Behind the Elizabethan Stage in the Bill Patton Garden where visitors can make their own brass rubbings (weather permitting, Wednesday-Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.). A selection of 50 brass plates is available (including a portrait of Shakespeare) and wax is used to imprint the image onto a piece of paper covering the plate. A popular activity with families, the cost is $5-$30 depending on the size of your image.

9. Get your blood pumping with one of the free, Green Show performances staged in the Festival Courtyard. Musical performances ranging from hip hop to contemporary Japanese music are a favorite of festival goers and scheduled on various days in the evening (6:45 p.m.) and occasionally midday. This year’s Green Show season ends October 10 and is not to be missed!

10. Shakespeare groupies will be in literary heaven thanks to this year’s exhibit of an original Shakespeare folio. The First Folio, printed in 1632, is an original copy of Shakespearean plays on loan from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection. An exhibit accompanies the folio and viewings are held, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with advance tickets for $5. The viewing room is exceptionally small and if you want an uncrowded look at the folio, choose a time early in the day.

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*This post was written for the CRAVE company by Deanna Duff, culture maven and freelance writer extraordinaire from Seattle, Washington.